Graphics and animation by Janina Malinis

MANILA, Philippines – Angelica only found out she was pregnant when she noticed her hips were getting wider.

She was 16 at the time and just about to graduate high school. Now 20 years old, Angelica has two children. While she still dreams of finishing a degree in criminology and becoming a police officer, she worries if she’ll get there.

Bills on aiming to reduce teen pregnancies have been around since the 13th Congress, but they languish even as the problem gets worse. Mothers are getting younger and younger, with the rates of pregnancies among girls aged 10-14 increasing. (READ: PopCom to Duterte: Declare teenage pregnancy as national emergency)

But hope is not lost – there are ways families and schools can help while bills move forward in Congress.

Will the government ensure that no more children will have children? – Rappler.com

“Stopping children from having children” is part of Rappler’s CHAMPIONING THE CHILD 2020 series. Watch the other video explainers:

• WATCH: Bill ending child marriage inches forward in Congress
• WATCH: PH rising up from a year of outbreaks
• WATCH: Youth pushes PH anti-sexual harassment movement further
• WATCH: Lumad children want to be back in classrooms

Listen to related podcasts on Making Space, Rappler’s podcast on gender, health, education, and everything in between:

• [PODCAST] Making Space: Married at 14
• [PODCAST] Making Space: Are your kids vaccinated?
• [PODCAST] Making Space: Sexual harassment survivors ‘fighting to fight’
• [PODCAST] Making Space: Lumad schools face challenges after government-ordered closure
• [PODCAST] Making Space: Children having children